Tag Archives: Jill Weber

2022 Kansas Social Studies Conference (Did I mention it’s free?)

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As a member and current president of the Kansas Council for Social Studies, the working relationship between the professional Social Studies organizations in Kansas is one that I deeply cherish and am proud to be a part of. This network of professionals has helped transform my teaching practice and feeds my teacher soul.

The four groups dedicated to serving the teachers of Kansas are:

  • Kansas Council for History Education
  • Kansas Geography Alliance 
  • Kansas Council for Economic Education
  • Kansas Council for Social Studies 

The cool thing is that while we all have a specific area of focus, we all have one common goal – sharing our love of history, government, and economics with the teachers, students, and communities of Kansas. One way we do that is to co-host a yearly social studies conference. And we were all desperately hoping to be able to provide an in-person conference this year. 

Unfortunately that just isn’t possible yet. (Curse you Omicron.) So the members of the four groups rose to the challenge and have come together to provide a free online learning conference that will meet the needs of teachers just like you.

The bonus? Anyone can attend! Not a Kansas social studies teacher? We’d love to have you be part of the experience! 

So whether you’re wanting to dive deeper into learning about indigenous Identity with Dr. Brandon Haddock, explore geography through the lens of a zombie apocalypse, dive into economic policy, or attend a wide variety of other breakout sessions with teaching strategies to help you “take it up a notch,”  we’ve got something for you. 

And . . . just a reminder. It’s free! 

Here’s the breakdown. Things kick off today and continue for the next month with a series of workshops and sessions – all offered online. (Did I mention they’re all free?)

Getting signed up for any or all of these virtual sessions is super easy. Sign up for one, or all, depending on your schedule and desire. You’ll receive a Zoom link prior to each session. Easy peasy.

I’m planning to attend as many sessions as I can and look forward to meeting all of you. I’m especially excited about my own session on February 16th! I will be sharing the evening with Essdack consultant and KCSS past president Glenn Wiebe, current KCSS vice president TJ Warsnak, high school social studies rock star Derek Schutte, and Institute for Curriculum Services Consultant Erika Lowery. 

I”ll be talking about ways to facilitate classroom discussions around contemporary issues and am looking forward to sharing some awesome strategies! Glenn, TJ, Derek, and Erika will make it tough for you to choose with three other awesome sessions! Feel free to bounce around from session to session. (We’ll be sure to include all of the resources here at Doing Social Studies and on our KCSS website so you’re guaranteed to have access to all the resources!)

  • Using Online Geo Tools to Enhance Your Instruction and Make Your Kids Smarter
    Glenn Wiebe
  • 3 Guys and a Textbook: A Lighthearted Look At Increasing Engagement (for mature audiences only!)
    TJ Warsnak and Derek Schutte 
  • Exploring Strategies for Analyzing Primary Sources
    Erika Lowery

Don’t forget to register! (And don’t forget the free part!). 

Hope to see you there!

Jill Weber

Dressing it up. Cause we’re always advertising

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I have been known to walk down the hallways of my school in scrubs, surgical hat, and gloves.

I have also paraded myself around in full-chef-gear – thanks to our culinary arts department.

I have a replica Indiana Jones hat. I wear it. Strutting through the hallway.

But WHY?

Continue reading Dressing it up. Cause we’re always advertising →

5 Easy Ways to Integrate Writing in the Social Studies

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Today’s post is written by Cheney, Kansas middle and high social studies teacher Jill Weber. Jill is the 2016 Gilder Lehrman Kansas History Teacher of the Year.

Gone are the days in which reading novels and writing essays belonged solely in an ELA classroom.  All subjects are now expected to (and should) be integrating and supporting the reading and writing skills that students are taught in Language Arts class.

“But, but . . . I went to college to be a history teacher, not an English teacher. I don’t know HOW to teach ELA!”

That was me. Seriously. I was ready to fight teaching reading and writing skills as long as I could.

Until I learned some simple strategies to help me.  This list is meant to help those who are struggling to add reading and writing skills into their classrooms and possibly give some new ideas to others. Continue reading 5 Easy Ways to Integrate Writing in the Social Studies →

H.I.T. Notebooks: A Different take on Interactive Notebooks

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jill weberJill Weber, 2016 Gilder Lehrman Kansas History Teacher of the Year, has joined the Doing Social Studies writing team and will be posting throughout the year. The following is a cross-post from her excellent site A View of the Web.

I used Interactive Notebooks in my social studies class for eight years.  The majority of the students loved them.  But I had a serious love/hate relationship with them.  And after taking a long look at the pros and cons of the books and my current curriculum, I decided not to continue with the interactive notebooks last year.

While I found it a relief not having to keep up with the grading of 60+ notebooks, there was something missing from my class.  I had a number of kids ask me why we weren’t doing them anymore, and others who were disappointed that the “hands on” cutting, pasting, and creativity was replaced with more writing assignments.  I felt guilty that my answer was “because I just couldn’t keep up with all the grading.”

That got me thinking on ways that I could bring the interactive notebooks idea back without having all the copious grading that went with it.  I talked with our language arts teacher, who uses her interactive notebooks as a tool to help organize materials and doesn’t grade it at all.  I liked that idea.

But I wanted more.  I wanted a way to hold kids accountable.  I wanted them to take pride in the organization and appearance of the book.  And, most of all, I wanted it to be used as something more than a storage device.  I want it to be something they will reference throughout the year.

The Idea:
Then an idea started to take form.  An idea to use the notebook more like a detective’s note book when trying to solve a crime.

So this year, we have: the  Historian In Training Notebook or HIT books. (HIT is a cool name for a middle school activity, right? )

The HIT notebook will be designed as sort of a history detective notebook that we’ll use to identify historical thinking techniques, analyze primary sources, keep information over specific historical questions, and refer back to skills learned throughout the year.

A few examples of possible pages  . . .  Continue reading H.I.T. Notebooks: A Different take on Interactive Notebooks →

What I wish “they” know

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ipad pencilJill Weber is a middle school social studies teacher in Cheney, Kansas. She’s the latest member of the KCSS board and writes at A View of the Web. Pasted below is one of her recent posts.

———

In my preparation classes to become a teacher, technology was a factor.  I learned how to set up a website, how to save to a flash drive or floppy disk, and came up with ideas for lessons that incorporate technology for students to use.

I use none of that in the way it was intended.  Everything has changed.

Technology has been a part of my teaching career each one of my 10 years.  Although, I never would have guessed how fast and drastic the changes in technology has occurred in the last three years.  The lengths that technology has advanced in education have shocked me, and I’ve still got a good 20 years left.

In the 10 years I’ve been working as a teacher, I have found myself on both end of the technology spectrum.  I have been completely lost and not excited about new changes while relying on someone else to help me or teach me the new tech.  More recently I have found that my role with technology in school has evolved to more of a leader/instructor on incorporating tech in the classroom.  Never would I have thought 10 years ago that I would have an elective class that focused on using technology to broadcast various media projects created by 7th and 8th grade students.

But here I am.

Over the years, and throughout my role with technology I have found myself muttering “I wish they knew . . . “  When I struggled with technology there were things I just really wanted those who “got it” to know about me and my journey, why it was a struggle, or what caused my hesitation.  Now that I’m more of a teacher in the area, I find I have a whole new set of wishes for the “other side.”

This post is not meant to point out one side as being “better” than the other.  More to raise awareness for all of the teachers behind the front lines.  Those of us who are expected to incorporate the vastly different technology that is placed in the hands of the students in our rooms.

I have reached out to other teachers in my district and PLN for the “wishes” they have.  These come from teachers of all disciplines, ages, subjects, and technology levels.

To the “tech savvy” teacher.  Here’s what those who struggle with technology wish YOU knew:

Continue reading What I wish “they” know →